The closing ceremony of the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year in Xi’an was a memorable celebration marked by captivating music, a stunning light show and powerful speeches promising continued collaboration. ESN – picked by the EU Delegation in China to put together the EU’s cultural contribution – was proud to be part of such a major international event.
Senior project manager Jean-Luc coordinated this project on behalf of ESN, and gives us his thoughts below.
The event turned out to be a huge success. Needless to say, there were some unexpected hiccups along the way. Some involved tracking down drums and a tuba, others making sure details didn’t get lost in translation.
Curious? Here’s the backstory:
It all kicked off in earnest a mere SEVEN weeks before the big day in November 2018. That’s when we signed the contract and got official confirmation that we were in charge of pulling together a 3D show to be projected on a wall of the UNESCO-listed ancient city of Xi’an.
But that’s not all – we were also asked to arrange the logistics for 20 musicians of the European Youth Orchestra to play on site (oh, and find them a rehearsal space); book plane tickets and hotels for 10 journalists and 30 VIP guests; find hostesses to distribute EU goodies; and hire a local team to take photos and a make a series of video clips of this unforgettable day in Europe’s history …
So, with the clock ticking, we set to work.
The pressure went up a notch when we received the following email from the people in charge of the orchestra:
“After having a look at the repertoire for the performance in Xi’an, it seems that we do need some big percussion instruments that we are not able to carry from Europe: 2 timpani, 2 side drums, 1 bass drum, 1 tam-tam.
Do you think it would be possible to approach a local orchestra or a music institution that could facilitate the hiring of these instruments?”
This was not part of the deal. But being a music lover, I just couldn’t say no!
In the end, we rented all the missing instruments from a traditional Chinese opera house in Xi’an that also agreed to let their rehearsal space out to us. Problem solved.
Another instrument-related dilemma we came up against had to do with a tuba. Since the airline the orchestra flew with refused to accept it on board due to its size, we had to find a local, Chinese alternative. In the end, we got lucky and found one that got a ride from Beijing to Xi’an via DHL.
All in all, it was a hectic project because we had to solve many practical and organisational issues on tight deadlines. Add to that a foreign language and cultural differences... We made it in the end and event attendees were impressed with the 3D show and orchestra performance, as was I.
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The tuba on its way from Beijing to Xi’an -
Jean-Luc with the hostesses -
The orchestra -
The stunning 3D show -
The interpreter, Helen, who made it all possible
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